Folding machine



Oct. 9, 1928.

L. H. MORIN FOLDING MACHINE Filed Sept. 2, 1925 2 Sheetf-Sheet 1 i dja/,MM

INVENTOR ATTORNEYS L. H. MORIN FOLDING MACHINE Oct. 9, 1928.

Filed Sept. 2, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet mvENToR l ATTORNEYS Patented i Get. 9, 1192.8..

UNITED STATES* i PATENT OFFICE.

LOUIS H. MORIN, OF NRW YORK, N. Y., AsisIGNOR To PHILLIPS-JONES CORPORATION,

or NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION or NRW YORK. Y.

l FOLDING MacIIINR.

Application led September 2, 1925. Serial lNo. 54,035.

This invention relates to folding machines` Ifor fabrics and in particular to means for automatically'controlling the duration of the folding operation.

In the operation of fabric folding machines now in common use, the length of time the article being folded is subjected `to heat yand pressure is determined by the length of time the operator holds his foot upon the operating pedal. The effect produced is thus de-vr pendent upon the judgment ofthe operator, i

labor. In any event, in the folding of any given product, there is a certain period for the application ofv heat and pressure best suited to that product, any departure from'v which is disadvantageous. It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide means set in motion by the operator for folding the fabric and holding it under heat and pressure, the release of the fabric being automatically effected after a predetermined length of time, and not under the control ofy the operator.

Machines of this type are commonly pro-V vided withv die having the shape of the article to be folded and a movable Vhead of the same shape which kis swung up out ofthe way, to enable the operator to place the fabric' above the die` and is then swung down'to force the fabric into the die and fold its overhanging edges upward. A plurality of slides are then moved inward to fold the edges of the fabric over the head. In accordance with the present invention the head when once set in motion is no longer under the control of the operator. and hence in the absence of somev further provision for safety there would be the danger that the operators hand might be caught and seriously injured. It is therefore a further object of mv invention to yprovide safety means making it possible to arrest the movement of the head without affecting the operation of the rest of the machine'.

In the accompanying drawings I have il-y lustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention. In these drawings Figure 1 is a side 'elevation of a folding machine equipped withthe timing control and the safety connection of the present invention; Figure 2 is a detail showing the relative position of the head, the slides and thefabric during the folding'operation; Figure?) islav plan view partly 1n section of :the timing apparatus;

Figur`e4 is a detail of the safety connection;

Figure 5 is a vertical section on an enlarged scale taken along line y5-'5 of Figure 1; Figure 6 1s an enlarged section taken along Aline y6--6 of Figure 1, and Figuref7 is a diagrammatic view ofthe head and operating connections showing the result of arresting Y the movement of the `hea-d. I

lThe folding machine illustrated in Figure 1 comprises a bed 1 supported upon standards 2. The-bed carries ay die block 3fprovided with a Vdie cavity 4f having the shape of the article to be folded. `Pivotally rmounted at ,the rear of the'bed lis an arm fcarrying at I its forward and upper end a head 6 likewise having the shape of the article to be folded and designed. when'swung downward, to` fit Awithin the die cavity 4 during the folding operation. Slidably mounted 'upon the die block 3. adj acentthe die cavity, are a plurality of slides 7 designed to move over the vcavity and thehead during'the folding operation.

`TheY article 8 to be folded is first out to substantially vthe desired shape, but large venough to provide edges which are to be vfolded and placed above the diel cavity` the yhead 6 moved down forcingthe body ofthe article into the cavity, causing its edges 9 'to assume a rsubstantially 4,vertical position as illustrated by dotted lines in Figure 2, and ythe 'slidesA 7 then moved inward folding the edges down upon the head, the parts then Oc-V cupvingthe position illustrated in Figure 2. The swinging movement of the arm 5 and .the head 6 is` effected bv meansof a'linlr 11 Yprovidedat its upper end with ya slot 12 which receives av pin 13 on the arm 5. The lower end of this? link 11 is pivotally connected to a horizontal link MjOu'rnaled-'upon `a rod 15 mounted on the standards' andthe head 6 normally a spring 16 connecting the link 14 with the frame ofthe machine. A final downward pressure of the head 6 against the fabric is effected by means of a cam operating in contact with the lower end 17 of the arm 5 and the mechanism is so timed that the slides 7 are movedinward at the same time or slightheld in raised position bymeans of Y tiated.

i from the head which is made collapsible toi' ot the slides is effected by fluid operated mechanism mounted below the bed and controlled by means ot a valve operated by a link r19 pivotally connected with the link 14.v ln machines now in common use the link 111i is extended beyond the machine and terminates in a pedal by means ot which the operator controls the operation ot the machine.

Thus, when this pedal is depressed the link 11 is moved upward, swingingl the arm 5 and i the head. into contact withv the fabric and ward thus operating the valve 18 and causing a withdraiifal of the slides?. flitthe same time the link 11 is moved downward until the upper end oiV the'v slot 12 contacts with the pin i3 and the arm 'aiid head 6` are swung up and away from the die The motion lost while the ain 13 is movinol in slot 12 iermits the withdrawal of the slides be'rore v.the upwartL swinging movement ot the head is 1n'- 'l`he'itolded article is then removed this purpose.

rlhe foregoing is a brie't description of a folding machine now on the market and of itself 'terms no part ot the present invention.`

rlhe operation ot this machine is controlled wholly by the o aeratoil and the fabric is held under heatand pressure only so long as the operator keeps his toot upon the pedal. l

shall. now describe how, in accordance with the 'present invention, il automatically Vcontrol tlie duration of the pr ssing'and folding,` operation and thus make it independent of the judgment ot the operator.

Mounted at ythe rear otthe machine upon a shaft 21 is a cam 22 having a circular tace tor more than three-'quarters ot its circumterence, but provided .with 'a cut-out 23. Mounted within vertical guideways 24, just back ot the cam, is a cam slide 25 provided with aslot 25 through lwhich the s iatt 1 passes. `liiounted upon this cam slide is a roller 27 which acts as a' cam follower so that the slide 25 is vertically reciprocated by the rotation ot the cam. The link 11 is connected to this slide 25 by means which shall be described later. At present sutiice it to say that the lim: 11 is reciprocatedwith the slide so that as the cam rotates the head 6 is swung,r into and out ot operative position with relation to the fabric on the machine. The cam and the various connections are soxdesigned that when the roller 2'? lies within the bottom ot the cut-out 23 the head 6 is inlraised position and when the roller is riding upon the circular tace ot the cam the head 6 is in low.

ered position. Thus, starting trom the position illustrated in Figure 5, a vsingle rotation ct the cam will cause the head 6 to be swung Y The shaft 21 on which the camA 22 is mounted is drive-n by means of a motor 28 which, through suitable reduction gearing 29,

drives a bevel pinion .81 meshing` with a second bevel pinion lined upon, a bushing..

33 joui-naled on the shaft 21. rl'he bevel pinion 32 is likewise fixed to a clutch sleevel 34s of a sin @le revolution clutch of known deto the shaft 21. riihemotor 28 isin constant rotation and so likewise is :the clutch sleeve 3d. Encircling theclutch sleeve 3d is a clutch band 36 providedwith outstanding lugs 37- which contact withk lingers 38 on the idle member of the clutch. l] hen this clutch band 36 is tightened about the sleeve 34, the shatt 21 is therefore rotated and cam 22 with it. 'Theclutch band 36 is provided with lugs 39 one on either end connected by means ot a bar 41 provided at one end with a shoulder l2 which bears againstY a cutout in a rotatable pin d3. rlhis pin Vis rotated through, a small arc by'means ot'fan' arm d4 terminating` in a roller d5.' 'Encircling the idle member ot the clutch is a fixed sleeve e6 support-ed upon an upright d8 and provided with a iiange or integral annular collar L17.'

Loosely mounted upon this. sleeve Llis a collar 19 adjacent the flange Llf and ot, the same diameter. The collars d? and 49am eachprovided with cut-outs 51 in their pe.

ripheries which normally are in alignment' and in both ot which vthe roller l5 of the arm lll normallylies. The collar i9 is provided with a depending arm 52 having a slot 53 which receives a pin 54ron an arm 55 fixed uponan oscillatable shaft 56,- having a pedal 57 fixed to its outer end. Oscillation of this shaft 56 causes a partial rotation ot the collar 49 which results in swinging the rollerv d5 and the arm 414.- outward vand a tightening ot the clutch banc 36 about the sleeve 34:. rlhe consequent rotationoii this sleeve is tra-nsmitted to theshatt 21 and the cam 22 is rotated. As soon as this rotation begins, a spi-ing `58 fastened at one end tothe trame ot the machine and at theother'end to the shaft 56, returns the arm 55 to upright .position and thus returns vthe collar i9 yto its original position with relation tothe collar di'. When 'the roller 45, after making one sign, the idle member 35 ot' which is keyed revolution returns to its starting point, the two eut-outs 51v are in positionl to receive it and the clutch is thus released. i

rlhus the operator by depressing the pedal 57 and oscillating the shaft 56 sets the cam 22 in rotation, and this cam, through roller 27, link 11 and link le and their associated elements moves the foldiiigparts of the machine into and out of operative position. Once this movement is initiated, the operator is powerless to interfere and the fabric is held under heat and pressure for a period of time, the duration of which depends upon the speed of rot-ation of the shaft 21 and the configuration of the cam 22.

I shall now describe the safety connection by means of which the downward swinging.

movement of the head 6 may be interrupted without interfering with the operation ofthe machine. Pivot-ally mounted upon a pin in the upper end 0f theslide 25 is a yoked lever 59 carrying at one end a weight 6l and at the other end pivotally connected at 62 with a pair of members 68 which are in turn pivotally connected with links ll and 14 by means of a common pivot pin 64. These members 63 terminate in curved portions provided with vertical slots 63 which receive the outer ends of the pivot pin 65. The weight 6l is of such magnitude and so mounted upon the lever 59 that it is normally counterba-lanced by the spring 16. Thus, as the slide 25 rises and falls in response to the rotation of the cam 22 the lever 59 with its weight 6l and the -member 63 likewise rise and fall and transmit this movement to the links 1l and llt. hould the opei'ator inadvertently place his hand beneath the downwardly swinging head 6 thisv downward swinging movement is arrested.. The lever, 59 thereupon pivotsA about the point 62, but

its upward movement is not interfered with, the slide 25 moving the pin 65 up slots 63', as shown most clearly in Figure 7.. The cam 22 completes its'cycle, the machine comes to rest in the usual manner, and no vdamage has been done either to the operators hand or to the machine.

I claim:

1f In a folding machine the Vcombination of fluid-operated means for applying pressure to a folded fabric, means under the control of the operator for initiating the action of said fluid operated pressing means, and means for automatically releasing the pressure after a predetermined time interval.

2. In a folding machine the combination of fluid-operated means for folding and pressing a fabric, a cam controlling the movement of said folding and pressing means, means under the control of the operator for starting the rotation of the cam to move the folding and pressing means into Contact with the fabric and'means for automatically stopping said camfafter it has made one revolution and has moved the folding andpressing means out of contact with the fabric.

8. In ya folding machine of the ltype l in which a fabric is .subjected to heat ai'idipressure as long as the operator holds the pressing and heating elements in operative position, the combination of means set in motion by the operator for moving these elements into operative position, holding them in such position a predetermined length of time and then automatically removing them.

4. In a folding machine the combination of a movable head for folding and pressing a fabric, means set in motion by the operator for moving the head into operative position, holding it there a predetermined time and then automatically releasing it, and a yieldable connection between thehead and the moving means so that the head may be stopped without interfering with the cycle of operations. Y

In a folding machine, the combination of means for applying pressure to a fabric, means for moving the pressure applying means into contact with the article being folded, and acounterbalancedvpivoted lever intermedi ate the moving means and the pressure applying means which swings when movement of the pressure applying means is arrested without interfering with the opera- -tion of the moving means.

6. In a folding machine, the combination of a movable` head for applying pressure to' a fabric, a link for moving the head, a cam, a cam follower, a slide movable with the cani follower, and a counter-balanced lever pivot- `ally mounted on the slide and pivotally con-v nected with the link which moves the head` the arrangement of the parts being such that LOUIS H. MORIN. 

